Final Review Semester 2
Hee hee that rhymes
Age of Progress I
American, French, and
Industrial Revolutions, Darwin
Deism
•
•
Ancient philosophy revived during the age
of Reason
Emphasizes reason over revelation in
religious matters
1. There is one supreme God
2. That He is chiefly to be worshipped
3. Piety and virtue is the principal part of His
worship
4. We must repent of our sins; if we do God will
pardon them
5. There are rewards for good men and
punishments for bad men, both here and
hereafter
Deism
• Deism competed with Christianity (primarily
Anglican) as the primary religion of the
American founding fathers
• The two most notable Deists were Benjamin
Franklin and Thomas Jefferson
• Franklin tried to live a life of selfimprovement, attempting to keep 13 virtues
• Jefferson in trying to unite Christian
morality with Deism consolidated and
rewrote the gospels leaving out miracles
• Deism foreshadows modern agnosticism
French Revolution
• Began under the influence of Age of Reason
philosophy and out of involvement in the
successful American Revolution
• The desire for freedom and democracy was
strong in France
• The revolt began on July 11, 1789 with the
storming of the Bastille officially beginning
the Age of Progress
• Revolution began under the cry of “Liberté,
égalité, fraternité, ou la mort !” Liberty,
Equality, Fraternity, or Death!
French Revolution
• The French Revolution was based primarily
on Rationalist/Deist thought without the
mitigating Christian influence of America
• France had previously quashed most
Protestantism and during the revolution
began to eliminate Roman Catholicism
• The RCC was the largest landowner in
France and extracted a “tithe” from it
• The French eliminated the tithe, confiscated
church property, destroyed monasteries,
and declared the Church under French
control
French Revolution
• The De-Christianization of France also
included an attempt to replace Christian
worship with the Cult of the Supreme Being
• The Revolution took many stages ending
with the Jacobins in power initiating the
“Reign of Terror”
• They executed any counter-revolutionaries
or not revolutionary enough revolutionaries
• It all collapsed and Napoleon took over
• Lack of Christian influence and intervention
by European powers primarily caused the
downfall of the Revolution
Charles Darwin
• Charles Robert Darwin, born in England on
Feb. 12, 1809 the 5th of 6 children
• His father was a doctor and wanted him to
be one as well, He studied medicine but was
appalled at the brutality of surgery
• Learned taxidermy and began to study
nature
• His father wanting him to have a good job
then enrolled him in Cambridge so that he
could become an Anglican priest
• Darwin got into the Cambridge Beetle Craze
Charles Darwin
• Darwin did well in his studies, particularly in
science and theology
• After graduating 10th/178 he balked at
becoming a clergyman and instead
embarked on a 5 year sea voyage
• He sailed on the Beagle visiting many lands
and gathering much information on various
species and creatures
• During the voyage he met several Native
missionaries, after which he was convinced
that racism was wrong
Charles Darwin
• He grew ill during the voyage and would
deal with the illness for the rest of his life
• Returned to England and began propagating
his new theories with much success
• During one of his recovery periods in the
country he fell in love with his cousin Mary
• After debating the merits he eventually
proposed and they were Married in an
Anglican/Unitarian ceremony
• Darwin’s theory of evolution became
popular as well as popularly contested
Charles Darwin
• Darwin’s observations of natural selection
and micro-evolution caused a great stir
• The religious implications of evolutionary
theory were immediately understood and
debated
• His daughter Annie died in 1851 removing
Darwin’s belief in a beneficent God
• Darwin worked until he grew ill and died in
1882, he was buried in Westminster Abbey
• There are rumors of uncertain truth that he
potentially converted on his deathbed
Charles Finney
• Born Aug. 29, 1872 in Warren, CT
• At 2 his family moved to NY along with
many other emigrants, they were poor
farmers and lived in harsh conditions
• He heard very little preaching growing up
and what he did was grammatically poor
• Didn’t go to college but got a high school
education and then a Law certification
• Moved to Adams, led the church choir
though still an outspoken unbeliever
Charles Finney
• Finney had a vision of Christ in the middle
of the street and began to convert
• After a day long process Finney knew he
was saved
• He realized that he now was to preach
• Began an education that was more
argument than learning
• Was ordained as a Presbyterian minister,
but later became Congregationalist
Charles Finney
• Finney was Armenian and specifically antiHyper-Calvinist
• His Arminianism stems from his defense
against Unitarianism
• He led a massive reform in the
methodology of revival
• Preached extemporaneously, used
encouragers, prayed for people by name
from the pulpit, had women praying at the
front of the church, endorsed mixed
gender prayer services, and created the
modern altar call with his “anxious bench”
Charles Finney
• Preached massive revivals with claims of
over 500,000 getting saved
• Western New York became the “BurnedOver District” because there was no fuel
left for revival there
• The mass conversions weren’t all
absorbed by local churches instead many
fell by the wayside once emotion was gone
• Became professor and eventually
president of Oberlin college, the first
college to allow women and black people
to study
Charles Finney
• Finney died in 1875
• His Christianity and the effects of his
ministry are still to this day hotly debated
• To many reformed Christians Finney is an
arch-heretic and the doom of evangelism
• To many modern Evangelicals Finney is a
great hero and model for revival
D.L. Moody
• Born Feb. 5 1837 6th of 9 children
• His father died when he was 4 and his
mother had great difficulty keeping the
family together
• A local Unitarian pastor came alongside
the family and helped care for them both
spiritually and materially
• The Moody family became Christian
• At 17 he traveled to Boston, and after a
period of hopeless job hunting got a job as
a shoe salesman in his uncle’s store
D.L. Moody
• He was mostly illiterate, but an excellent
shoe salesman
• Moody converted after a visit from his
Sunday school teacher
• After some scufuffle he was given
membership in the church
• Following his impetuous nature Moody
moved to Chicago on a whim
• He made a good deal of money as a
salesman as well as increasing his
involvement in various works for God
D.L. Moody
• His love for evangelism manifested itself,
he rented a pew and filled it weekly with
various bums and wastrels
• Began a Sunday school ministry among
the children of the slums earning him the
nickname “Crazy Moody”
• At 24 Moody submitted to his call to full
time ministry having lost all desire to work
• Became very involved in the Y.M.C.A
• During the Civil war Moody initiated tent
camp evangelism converting many
soldiers
D.L. Moody
• 1867 traveled to England and met his two
heroes Charles Spurgeon and George
Müller
• A massive fire burned down Moody’s
school and YMCA building in Chicago
• He traveled to New York in order to raise
funds for rebuilding
• While in New York his soul was tormented
until he had a revelation and anointing
• Traveled to England in order to refresh and
increase in learning
D.L. Moody
• In answer to a crippled girls prayers
Moody preached in a church that saw a
massive revival of over 400 new members
• Thus began his career of mass evangelism
• Teaming up with Ira Sankey Moody
traveled all over preaching revival
wherever he went
• He founded several schools including the
still famous Moody Bible Institute
• It is said that in his lifetime he preached to
over 1,000,000 people.
D.L. Moody
• He grew old became ill with a heart
condition
• Hiding the condition he preached one
more series of sermons in Kentucky
• He then went home to die
• He died
2nd Great Awakening
• Massive 19th Century revival that swept
across America
• It began with the Kentucky Revival in the
early 1800’s and continued on in various
aspects throughout the rest of the century.
• In the frontiers the Baptists and Methodist
denominations grew quickly as they were
the primary movers in revival
• More urban revivals such as took place in
New England under Finney and Chicago
under Moody were less denominational
2nd Great Awakening
• The entire awakening was marked by
radicalism
• Especially in the frontiers people were
excitable and prone to hysterics
• Also gave rise to several modern day
heretical movements like Mormons and
Jehovah’s Witnesses
• Provided a platform for social change
often promoting such ideas as race
equality and prohibition
• Many many many were saved or at least
claimed to be
Joseph Smith Jr.
• Born in Virginia to a down on their luck
family who moved around looking for work
• Moved to New York along with many other
families, eventually giving up on hard work
and seeking less “difficult” means of
employment
• Joseph was marked as a clever boy with a
knack for storytelling, but was never well
educated
• Supposedly at 14 he had a theophany of
God the Father and Jesus
Joseph Smith Jr.
• He began spreading his tale with some
success, though when he began telling
about it meets with mixed reports
• Functioned as an exhorter during the 1824
revival that took place in Palmyra
• Was almost baptized in the Baptist church
in order to marry Emma Hale
• 1827 it was revealed to him by the angel
Moroni the location of golden plates
containing the real testament of Jesus
Christ
Joseph Smith Jr.
• He translated the plates by dictating to a
scribe as he translated
• Thus was the book of Mormon written
• A good looking a charismatic man he
eventually gained many followers
• 1831 to avoid conflict in New York the
Smiths moved to Kirtland Ohio where they
built the first Mormon temple
• 1838 they fled to Missouri due to local
unrest and mob violence primarily due to
Smith’s polygamous practices
Joseph Smith Jr.
• Moved to Independence Missouri and had
visions that it was to be the center of Zion
in Christ’s soon to come millennium
• Political blocs, physical violence, and a
take over attempts made the Mormons
unpopular in Missouri
• Smith was imprisoned for several months
but bribed his way out with liquor and $$
• 1839 moved to Nauvoo Illinois where the
Mormons became dominant and Smith
became mayor
Joseph Smith Jr.
• 1842 Smith became a freemason
• 1844 announced his candidacy for
president of the USA
• The newly made newspaper the Nauvoo
Expositor complained against Smith and
his Polygamy
• Smith ordered the paper destroyed and
shut down violating freedom of the press
• Popular opinion rose against Smith and he
was imprisoned in Carthage jail
Joseph Smith Jr.
• While in jail with his brother and a few
followers a mob came and attacked them
• Both Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed,
Joseph tried to escape by jumping from
the window and was shot
• His last words were “Oh, Lord, my God,”
the beginning of a Masonic cry for help
• Smith’s death left a succession crises
from which the church split, though the
mainstream Mormons followed Brigham
Young to Utah where they remain
John Newton
• Born 1725 in London the son of a wealthy
shipmaster
• His mother influenced him towards
Christianity but died while he was young
• His father died shortly after and he was
pressed into naval service
• Became a low ranking officer but deserted,
after being recaptured he was demoted
and harshly treated
• Requested a transfer in Sierra Leon to a
slave ship
John Newton
• Was abused on the slave ship, but was
rescued by a captain friend of his fathers
• Eventually became a captain himself and
dealt primarily in slaves
• May 10, 1748 Was caught in a large storm
and cried out to God for mercy
• He quit dealing in slaves, studied Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew, in 1755 he quit sailing
• Became an ordained Anglican minister,
taught many sermons and wrote many
songs including Amazing Grace. He died.
William Wilberforce
• Born 1759 in Hull, England
• The son of a wealthy merchant who died
when he was young
• Was sent to live with his uncle and began
to be interested in Methodism, but after
threats from his family backed off
• Attended Anglican church meetings
particularly enjoying the teachings of John
Newton
• Went to St. Johns college in Cambridge
and was shocked by the licentious living
• Got over his shock and started taking part
William Wilberforce
• Started getting involved in politics and
spent 9,000 pounds to become the
member of parliament for Hull
• Began working for social reforms
especially regarding the conditions of the
people working in the factories
• Was approached by Lady Middleton and
asked to represent abolition to parliament
• 1789 he made the first of many speeches
against the slave trade
• 1791 his first abolitionist bill failed 163-88
William Wilberforce
• He persisted in abolitionist parliamentary
pursuits
• 1792 an amended abolition bill passed
with a great majority, but did nothing
• Afterwards the abolition movement
bogged down and received no great
support until 1804
• While parliament was ignoring abolition he
pressed for more humanitarian goals,
setting up a bible society, caring for poor,
and sending missionaries to India
William Wilberforce
• 1807 the English parliament passed a ban
on the slave trade, though the slaves
weren’t emancipated.
• He began working towards a gradual
emancipation, believing an immediate one
would cause economic devastation
• 1825 he retired from parliament though he
remained active, striving for emancipation
• He died July 29, 1833 one month before
the finalization of the “Slavery Abolition
Act” emancipating the slaves
Frederick Douglass
• Born in 1818 as Frederick Augustus
Washington Bailey, a slave in Maryland
• was separated from his mother while an
infant, and was sent to work for Hugh Auld
• Hugh’s wife Sophia broke the law and
taught him the alphabet
• He learned to read from young children
and from observation
• 1837 with help from Anna Murray he
escaped to New York
Frederick Douglass
• 1841 he hear William Lloyd Garrison speak
and was greatly influenced
• 1843 he became very involved in the
abolition movement, writing for several
newspapers and journals
• Became famous as a speaker for abolition
also became a minister in the African
Methodist Episcopal Church
• Did and said lots of stuff
• Died in 1895 and became the first
posthumous frat boy in Alpha-Phi-Alpha
William Lloyd Garrison
• Major figure in the abolitionist movement
• Wrote The Liberator a newspaper famous
for its outspoken abolitionist content
• Founded the American Anti-Slavery
Society
• He was outspoken against anything
hindering abolition including the
constitution and the organized church
• Split with many friends over various
issues he was not willing to back down on
primarily the equality of women
William Lloyd Garrison
• Garrison’s support of Lincoln and the
Republicans caused further splits
• After the war Garrison promoted the
dissolution of the AAS, but was outvoted
so he retired hurting many feelings
• 1873 he made up with his friends while
they worked together in the American
Woman Suffrage Association
• After the death of his wife he became
involved in spiritualism
• He died a much celebrated man
Churches and American Slavery
• In the south slaves were often made to
attend church where they were instructed
in obedience and their “place” in life
• In the north a more abolitionist spirit had
room to move, though not all were
involved many choosing unity over all
• Christians were the forerunners of
abolition, in the south many were the
workers on the underground railroad
• In the north many Christians were the
most active of all the abolitionists
Temperance Movement
• Along with an increasing desire for
abolition came an increased interest in
general morality
• Often drunkenness was seen as the
primary cause of poverty and immoral
living
• The evangelical perfectionism preached by
Finney and others greatly influenced this
ideology
• Temperance fell by the wayside during the
civil war, but came back strongly after in
the form of various societies
Temperance Movement
• Temperance also became a popular
political platform “supported” by many
• Women were especially involved in the
movement and used powerful guilt tactics
• Ultimately it resulted in the 1919 18th
amendment prohibiting alcohol
• 18th amendment did very little as most
ignored it, including the president
• Also led to a major upswing in crime
resulting in the 1933 21st amendment
repealing prohibition
Schleiermacher
• Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher the
son of a reformed Prussian army chaplain
• Born 1768 he was educated in a Moravian
community
• Was fascinated by Moravian spirituality
but was never able to obtain it
• He left the community, was disowned by
his father, and began studying at the
rationalist University of Halle
• Became famous as a thinker, teacher,
philosopher, and theologian
Schleiermacher
• During his studies he raised hermeneutics
to the modern science it is now seen as
• He attempted to combine most every
theological system into one, especially the
unification of science and faith
• Everything to S. was based on the persons
consciousness of Christ from there all
theology, morality, and life sprang
• Ultimately his theology weakened
orthodoxy by its reliance on vague
spirituality and lack of emphasis on
essential theology
Liberalism
• Came about primarily as a reaction to
rationalism
• The rationalist scientific view had so
weakened 19th century theology that they
had a hard time answering the objections
• Theology often became more liberal in
order to respond to rationalist critiques
• Much theology at the time was dogmatic
and not well understood including a
healthy emphasis on non-essentials
Liberalism
• Liberalism usually entails
– Weakening of strong theological standpoints
– Overemphasis either on spirituality or
rationality
– De-emphasizing essential theology
– Social issues replacing Christian ones
– Increase in humanism often to the exclusion
of Christ as the primary focus
– Viewing of the Bible as merely fallible
historical documents
Age of Ideologies I
WWII:
Pius XII, Dietrich Bonhöffer, Corrie Ten Boom
Post WWI Christianity
• 1914 World War I started
• 1918 World War I ended, leaving a much
changed Europe
• Post WWI Europe suffered a massive
dechristianization
• The Roman Catholics responded with
increased ties to the state, and various
social programs, to some good effect
• The protestant churches were a bit more
shaken, and due to weaker ties with the
state less able to respond
Post WWI Christianity
• Especially in Central Europe, Germany
was the worst destroyed by WWI and had
previously been the center for the majority
of European missions work
• Britain was also discouraged and
subjected to great losses in WWI
• In both churches the rise in intellectualism
marked a moving away of scholars from
Christianity
WWII Roman Catholicism
• The RCC’s record during WWII is rather hit
and miss, sometimes doing great deeds,
other time neglecting great needs
• The pope never would take an open stand
against the Nazis but did try to obtain
passports and aid some Jewish emigration
• After WWII the Pius XII and the RCC’s role
in the war was greatly criticized
• Pius was accused of being Hitler’s puppet,
criticized for his lack of involvement, and
his acceptance of the Ustase’s war crimes
WWII Protestantism
• Protestantism being inherently more
divided than Catholicism, they suffered
greater losses during the inter-war period
• When the Nazis took power they also tried
to take control of the church, they formed
the National Reich Church by
conglomerating the protestants together
• The Nazis attempted to make a puppet
church that was merely another platform
for popular indoctrination
WWII Protestantism
• Through a process called “positive
Christianity” they tried to emphasize the
Aryan Jesus and deemphasize his
Jewishness
• While most churches went along with it,
generally loving nation above God, the
“Confessing Church” went underground
Dietrich Bonhöffer
• Born 1906 in Breslau Germany, the 6th of 8
children in an upper middle class family
• Wanted to be a minister from an early age
• Got his doctorate in theology from the
University of Berlin, then studied at Union
Theological in New York
• While in New York he came to enjoy the
“African-American Spiritual”
• Returned to Germany in 1931, pastored for
a time, and was resistant to the Nazis
Dietrich Bonhöffer
• 1931 Along with Martin Niemöller and Karl
Barth he set up the “Bekennende Kirche”
or “Confessing Church”
• Taught in various underground seminaries
training German pastors
• Emphasized that Nazi ideology must be
resisted and the Jews must be helped
• 1939 he joined a group of conspirators
who were trying to assassinate Hitler
• 1943 money used to help Jews escape was
traced to him and he was imprisoned
Dietrich Bonhöffer
• In 1944 the failed July 20 Plot revealed
Bonhöffer’s connections to the conspiracy
• He was moved through various
prison/concentration camps
• 1945 in Flossenbürg he was executed by
hanging
• His major literary contribution to today is
the book The Cost of Discipleship
Corrie Ten Boom
• Born April 15, 1892 in Amsterdam
• Grew up in a strong Christian home,
greatly influenced by her father
• Became the fist licensed woman
watchmaker in the Netherlands
• During WWII her family actively hid many
Jews helping them to escape
• Her entire family was arrested, her father
died, and her and her sister were sent to
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Corrie Ten Boom
• Her sister died very shortly before Corrie
was released
• Corrie began an international ministry
speaking and teaching about Christ
• A movie “The Hiding Place” was based on
her autobiography
• She died on her 91st birthday in 1983
• You can listen to her at
http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/myd
ownloads/viewcat.php?cid=14
Hitler’s Christianity
• Some try and claim that Hitler was a
Christian, many Christians claim Hitler
was an atheist
• He was probably primarily atheistic and
“Christian” in formality also because it
gave him influence, obviously, he was not
actually a Christian
• In any case Hitler was a rather notorious
liar
Karl Heinrich Marx
• Born 1818 in Trier, Germany to a wealthy
German-Jewish family
• His father born into a line of rabbis name
was Herschel Mordecai but he changed it
to Heinrich Marx for business’ sake
• Began studying at the University of Bonn,
where he joined the Trier Tavern club
• His father wanted him to be serious about
education so sent him to the Friedrich
Willhelms Universität in Berlin
• Obtained a doctorate in 1841
Karl Heinrich Marx
• 1842 began a career in Journalism
• 1843 his paper was shut down
• Met Engels in Paris and they had warm
happy communist feelings together
• Marx began to develop the philosophy of
historical materialism
• 1848 Marx and Engels first published a
copy of The Communist Manifesto as a
statement of faith for their small
Communist League
Karl Heinrich Marx
• Marx/Engels were kicked out of Paris and
moved to Brussels in Belgium
• They were kicked out of Belgium and
moved to Köln (Cologne) Germany
• 1849 Marx moves to Cologne and starts a
leftist paper
• May 1849 Marx is kicked out of Germany
and moves to London where he remains
for the rest of his life
• Gets married to Jenny von Westphalen
and has 6 children (3 survived)
Karl Heinrich Marx
• Marx lived in London and wrote many
books and political commentaries
including “Das Kapital”
• Emphasized revolutionary activist politics
• Was an atheist and saw religion as a think
to be pitied, and useful only as a drug
“Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the
expression of real suffering and a protest against real
suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature,
the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless
conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
• Marx died 2 years after his wife in 1883
Brother Andrew
• Anne van der Bijl was born in 1928 to a
poor family in Holland
• Grew up in a good Christian home, but
didn’t personally have faith
• 1939 his brother died of Tuberculosis and
Andrew blamed God for it
• 1940 Germans occupied Holland and
Andrew raised small mischief against
them
• After the war he became a soldier and was
injured, while convalescing he began to
read the Bible
Brother Andrew
• Prayed “Lord, if you will show me the way
I will follow you.”
• Wanted to become a missionary but was
daunted by the 12 years training required
• 1953 attended the Glasgow missionary
school in Scotland for training because
they had a much quicker program
• He learned much from a month long no
money, don’t ask for any mission trip
• During this time Andrew witnessed many
miracles and a faith which would mark the
rest of his life grew
Brother Andrew
• Had an opportunity to attend a socialist
youth festival in Warsaw and there saw the
hoplessness of the communists
• He felt his calling in Rev. 3:2 “Now wake
up! Strengthen what little remains, for
even what is left is at the point of death”
• At God’s prompting someone taught
Andrew to drive, then later two others
gave him a brand new VW bug and money
• Andrew loaded his car with bibles and
smuggled them into Yugoslavia relying on
God to give him a place to deliver them
Brother Andrew
• 1958 Andrew married the love of his life
Corrie Van Dam
• Developed a famous border crossing
prayer when openly smuggling bibles in
“Father, You have made blind eyes to see -- now
I ask you to make seeing eyes blind."
• Continued smuggling bibles by dozens,
hundreds, and thousands into various
Communist countries
• 1961 project pearl delivered 1 million
bibles to China in one night
Brother Andrew
• Wrote his autobiography God’s Smuggler
which led others to join him in his work
• Founded the Open Doors ministry which
focuses on bringing bibles to those who
don’t have them
• Now open doors works primarily in the
Muslim countries
• Corrie Ten Boom also ministered to the
communists with her “pepperbox
messages” and speaking tours
R. A. Torrey
• Born 1856 in Hoboken New Jersey into a fairly well
off family
• Grew up in a Christian home w/ Christian customs,
but he didn’t become a Christian
• Went to Yale at 15 and became enthralled with all of
the worldly joys that were available
• Through the prayers of his mother he was saved
• Met D.L. Moody and was encouraged to evangelize
• Got married and moved to Germany to study at the
schools of higher criticism in Leipzig & Erlangen
R. A. Torrey
• Upon returning to the States, he began to pastor a tiny
church in Minneapolis, the Open Door Church
• 1888 began working among the poor, at which point he
dedicated himself to “praying through”
• Torrey was a man of intense and fervent prayer and
all his churches were marked by constant prayer
meetings
• 1889 took over the Chicago Evangelization Society
(now Moody Bible Institute)
• He began teaching with great effect, using his
education to expound the scriptures
R. A. Torrey
• 1894 began pastoring Chicago Avenue Church (now
Moody Memorial Church) soon the 2,200 member
auditorium was packed, he blamed prayer
• 1898 started a weekly prayer meeting to pray for
worldwide revival, averaging about 300 people
• Torrey felt a burden to pray for the opportunity to
preach worldwide, within a week he was asked to
preach an evangelistic series in Australia
• Torrey’s leave of absence became permanent as he
traveled the world preaching for many years seeing
huge revivals across the globe
R. A. Torrey
• 1912 he began serving as the dean of BIOLA
• He became chief editor of a set of books called
The Fundamentals a large collection of articles
refuting liberal theology
• 1924-1928 moved to North Carolina and
traveled around teaching bible conferences,
then he died
• He wrote over 40 different books and everyone
should read The Power of Prayer
• He is one of my heroes yay Torrey
Christian Fundamentalism
• Fundamentalism is a name for Christians that
has been abused in modern times.
• As a movement it is hard to define due to the
multiple groups that all have gone under the
name Fundamentalist
• Originally fundamentalism arose as a reaction
to growing liberal theology in the Church
• The name came from the 12 volume collection
of essays The Fundamentals which attempted to
oppose higher criticism, and set basic theology
Christian Fundamentalism
• Later in the mid 1900’s Fundamentalism
became synonymous with political actions and
movements such as the temperance movement
• Became demonized in the 1950’s on account of
the Scopes trial’s Creationism v. Darwin
dispute
• Now it covers an extremely wide gamut from
standard evangelicals who believe the bible is
inspired to those who believe that the world is
ending tomorrow and the homosexuals are to
blame
Scopes Trial
• Tennessee had outlawed the teaching of Evolution
• ACLU had offered to defend anybody violating the
law, and John Scopes volunteered
• The case became huge involving ACLU lawyer
Clarence Darrow and lawyer and three time
presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan
• Bryan was labeled a fundamentalist Christian
(potentially a misnomer as his theology was loose at
best) and in the course of the trial was made to look
quite the fool
• The scopes trial was covered nationally with a strong
anti prosecution bias
Scopes Trial
• The townspeople were labeled yokels and morons, and
Bryan as a buffoon spouting theological bilge
• The defense was placed in the exact opposite light
being represented as both educated and eloquent
• The ultimate verdict in the trial was guilty (Scopes had
broken the law) and the penalty was $100 which
Bryan offered to pay himself
• Scopes’ trial set the scene for the modern opinion of
Fundamentalists, so in modern day reference Bryan is
the picture of what a Christian Fundamentalist is seen
as
Christian Ecumenism
• Protestant ecumenism ostensibly began in 1910
with John Mott and the calling together of the
Edinburgh Missionary Conference
• Early ecumenism was focused on getting
various denominations to cooperate in missions
work
• A major player in early 1900’s was the YMCA
• During WWII the International Missionary
Council played a huge part, founding the
“Orphaned Missions Fund” to support
missionaries who were stranded by the war
Christian Ecumenism
• 1948 147 churches assembled to join the Faith
and Order and Life and Work movements into
the World Council of Churches
• 1961 the International Missionary Council
joined with the World Council of Churches
• 1971 the WCC merged with the World Council
of Christian Education
• Currently the WCC includes more than 340
churches representing 550 million Christians
and is the foremost ecumenical group in
existence
Billy Graham
• Born 1918 William Franklin Graham Jr. in
Charlotte, North Carolina
• Was raised as a Presbyterian, even hearing
Billy Sunday preach when he was 5, he became
a Southern Baptist after his 1934 conversion
• Studied at the Florida Bible Institute, and later
in 1943 he graduated from Wheaton College
• Married Ruth Bell shortly after graduating
• Began working with Youth For Christ, initially
on the radio and then through speaking tours
and organizational work
Billy Graham
• Began performing his own crusades many of
which lasted much longer than scheduled
• Graham gained a push from the media, which
gave him much free publicity
• Graham was accused of being an “Elmer
Gantry” due to financial questions, he
responded by forming the BGEA – Bill Graham
Evangelical Association which provided both
organization and accountability
• The BGEA set a model as well as a standard for
accountability in ministry
Billy Graham
• 1960 the BGEA began publishing Decision magazine,
other ministries included World Wide Pictures, and
the Hour of Decision radio program
• 1992 Graham eased his schedule due to Parkinson's
• 1996 William Franklin Graham III became chairman
of the BGEA
• 2005 Billy Graham performed what he called his last
crusade
• Now lives in North Carolina with Ruth
• Over the course of his career has had the ability to
impact and deal with politicians and nations and a
massive scale, spoke to live audiences of 250 million
Mega Churches
• While large churches have often existed,
Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle for
example, mega churches are a new movement
• Two major figures in the growth of the Mega
Church movement were Bill Hybels and Chuck
Smith, with Willow creek and Calvary Chapel
• A mega church in the U.S. is defined as any
church with more than 2,000 members 53% of
mega churches have 2-3000 members.
• Only 4% of mega churches have 10,000 or more
in attendance
Mega Churches
• Mega churches are generally suburban, and non-or at
least semi-denominational
• The largest mega church worldwide is the Yoido Full
Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea which has over
800,000 members
• Mega churches are often criticized as McChurches for
their easy gospel, loose theology, seeker friendliness,
and entertainment centered services
• They are also criticized as lacking in religion as noted
in the Economist article on Megachurches "Where in
God's name is the church?!?"
Mega Churches
• The proponents of mega churches laud their
increased capacity to reach people and perform
Christian function
• They generally eschew religiosity in an effort to
reach the modern person where they are at
• Calvary Chapel is a mega church, but holds up
well against the critiques
• I’m teaching this class in a Calvary Chapel so
I’m bound to be somewhat biased, but also
better able to make a decision.
• Mega churches are big, so is God, Have a nice
day
Ages
Jesus and the Apostles • Jesus Born
• Temple
70 AD catholic Christianity
Destroyed
312 AD Christian Roman
• Milvian Bridge
.
Empire
• Gregory I is
Pope
590 AD Middle Ages
• 95 Thesis
1517 AD Reformation
• Peace of
Westphalia
1648 AD Reason and Revival
• French
1789 AD Progress
Revolution
1914 AD Ideologies
• WWI
• 3BC
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